Two-time Olympic medalist from India, shuttler PV Sindhu made a winning start at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 on Wednesday, after a long injury lay-off, as she beat China’s World No. 8 Han Yue 21-17, 21-15. Facing a higher-ranked opponent, WR-11 Sindhu faced no difficulty in toppling the Chinese girl and giving India a 1-0 lead in the five-match tie.
Coming back from a knee injury she suffered in October, during the French Open, Sindhu looked in no visible discomfort, as she raced past Han Yue. In the first game, she took an early lead at 11-8, and never really looked back from there. In fact, not once in the game did she let the Chinese player break her lead.
Come the second, despite trailing 13-10 at one point, Sindhu did not let the grip loosen and kept attacking. The results showed as she bagged four consecutive points from there on to deflate the confidence of Yue. Meanwhile, the Indian maintains her 100% win record against her.
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Olympic Qualification on Radar for Sindhu
This win for Sindhu at the Badminton Asia Team Championships 2024 is a great start in her bid to qualify for the Paris Olympics. The continental event will serve as one of the qualifying events for the Olympics. The significance of this win is huge, since this was her first outing with coach Agus Dwi Santoso, after parting ways with Muhammad Hafiz Hashim. She has Prakash Padukone as her mentor as well.